Awards Descriptions

sciLINKS is am endeavor
by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to connect textbooks to
useful online content. A direct connection from a concept on the textbook page
is made to materials exploring that concept in cyberspace, leading readers to
the kinds of materials the NSTA professional educators believe work best in
the classroom. Two of the SOLAR Center activities been selected:

Once a web site is selected,
the NSTA places its URL in a database, correlates it to the National Science Education
Standards, and writes a brief description that identifies one or more of its salient
characteristics. When a reader (a teacher, student, or even parent) of a sciLINKed
textbook comes across a sciLINKS icon in their textbook, they know that the content
on that page has been enhanced with online content specifically connected to a
single concept. The reader goes to the free sciLINKS web site, and they type in
a code found on the pages of that text, and the sciLINKS search engine reports
the pages their teachers selected. When a user selects one of these sites, a new
browser window opens, points to the selected web site, and connects the reader
directly to the content provider, i.e. the SOLAR Center. For
more information.

"Your site is one of 20
that has been awarded "Best of 1997" and has been featured in Education World's
Special Edition "Best of 1997"! We carefully re-examined all of the 240 sites
that we reviewed over the past year, and chose yours as [one of the 20] best
of the year!"

"This site has educational
information, resources, and educational activities relating to the sun. Users
can learn about the sun's magnetic field, sunspots, and what's happening inside
the sun. The site uses information from the Solar Oscillations Investigation
(an international project to study the interior structure and dynamics of the
sun) and data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Although the data
come from advanced scientific projects, this site is set up for a general audience.
It includes activities, a scavenger hunt, quizzes, folklore about the sun, a
question and answer section, and an area for "Solar Art." The site also has
a glossary to explain the more difficult terms and a page of links to outside
resources. A wealth of information on one subject! Science teachers should visit
this one!"

"Created by Stanford University,
This site presents a collection of fun educational activities based on Solar
Oscillations Investigation (SOI) and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
data. Students can explore the Sun's tangled magnetic field, its turbulent surface
motions, the dramatic sunspot cycle, and even what magic happens in the solar
interior, where instrumental eyes cannot penetrate. Especially useful and noteworthy
are the folklore stories, great quotes, and legends about our nearby star, which
could add considerable depth to any curriculum on our solar system."

CONTENT
This site has educational information, resources and educational activities
regarding the sun. Users can learn about the Sun's magnetic field, sunspots
and what's happening inside the sun.

AESTHETICS
The site uses a lot of yellow and orange in its design. Most of the links
are available from graphical buttons and most text descriptions are highlighted
with images.

ORGANIZATION
The Highlights page presents a synopsis of the Web site and allows the
user to "get a feel" for the information found here. Each section is listed
on the main page and each area has links to the other sections or back
to the home page.

REVIEW:
The site uses information gained from the Solar Oscillations Investigation
(an international project to study the interior structure and dynamics of
the sun) and data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory data. The
site provides links to both sites for more information. Althought the data
comes from advanced scientific projects, this site is set up for a general
audience. The information here is for students interested in studing the
sun. The site includes activities, a scavenger hunt, quizzes, folklore about
the sun, a question and answer section and an area of "Solar Art". The site
also has a gloassary to explain the more difficult terms and a page of links
to outside resources for additional information. The "Sun-on-Earth" area
discusses such topics as auroras, rainbows, and sunrises and sunsets. The
"About the Sun" section has videos, sun statistics, sunspot and solar mission
information, plus images of the sun. The goal of the site is to make science
fun and enjoyable while providing a lot of information on the sun and how
it affects us. Most of the information and activities are geared to 4th-12th
grade sutdents but almost anyone can find something of interest. This is
a great place for science teachers or students to find sun-related units
and lessons.

"Your Web site, Stanford
SOLAR Center, is being recognized with the Dr. Matrix Award for Science Excellence
from "Dr. Matrix' Web World of Science." "Stanford SOLAR Center" is also being
honored with prominent display as a select site at http://www.nr.infi.net/~drmatrix/award.htm
with the categories: Astronomy & Space Science, Exploration and Reference, and
Student Resource.

"Sites receiving this award
are distinguished by the quality of their content alone. A flashy Web site will
not receive this award if its content lacks interest and integrity. A simple
Web site will receive this award if it serves the interests of discovery, mental
enrichment and thoughtful enjoyment. This award doesn't go to "cool" sites.
It goes to the great sites. It's not a daily or weekly award, but an award based
on presence, here and now. It is given in gratitude, with no other request but
that you keep doing what you're doing.

"I think that the best
commentary I can make is that your site gets one of my awards hands-down. It's
a veritable gold mine of interesting information and exploration. The SOLAR
Center will go a long way towards enriching exploration on the Web."

"The Stanford SOLAR Center
provides educational activities about the Sun based on data from the SOHO mission.
There are activities, basic information, solar artwork (including images and
illustrations of data), and an opportunity to ask questions of solar physicists,
among other features. This site is an excellent resource for students wishing
to learn more about the Sun."

"Everything you could ever
possibly want to know about our nearest star is contained on this extremely
effective and well presented site. Designed very much to be of value from an
educational point of view and to be accessible to all, this excellent site is
well worth a visit."

"Stanford Solar Center
- This thorough and well-organized web site contains activities, images, a glossary,
and other resources related to the sun. A great site to learn about the sun's
magnetic field, sunspots, solar physics, and more."

"The solar investigations
people at Stanford University are providing Solar On-Line Activity Resources
for the joy of solar science exploration. They've done a good job with this
large site, offering news, activities, quizzes, solar facts and folklore (fascinating!),
tons of science and space links, solar art, and much more."

This site presents a wealth
of resources you can use in your classroom:
* a collection of 10 fun educational activities based on Solar Oscillations
Investigation (SOI) and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) data. Students
can explore the Sun's tangled magnetic field, its turbulent surface motions,
the dramatic sunspot cycle, and even what magic happens in the solar interior,
where instrumental eyes cannot penetrate.
* Information on Earth-Sun connections. Currently featured is an article on
Global Warming which examines whether the changes are caused by people or by
increases in the sun's energy.
* extensive collection of folklore from around the world that relates to the
sun.
* beautiful images created by scientists as a by-product of their investigations.
* Current sun-related news and discoveries.

The site is well-designed
and attractive. It uses animation and sound effectively.

"Designed for grades 4-12,
as well as interested adults, this site offers a multidisciplinary, hands-on
approach to exploring the Sun. Development of the Solar Center has been supported
financially at Stanford University by NASA through Grant NAG5-3077. This grant
supports Mission Operations and Data Analysis of the Solar Oscillations Investigation
Michelson Doppler Imager instrument on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO)."
[OK, so NASA isn't as flowery in their descriptions as others are...]

"The Stanford Solar Center
is a great place to explore this special star: the Sun. The site is a great
educational resource and provides various activities as well as an excellent
collection of Solar Folklore."